Internal combustion engine



March 8, 1932. I B. ELLIS 1,849,000

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed July 20 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Loam/00p B E L/5 7 3 Mw W am: may

March 8, 1932. L. B. ELLIS INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 20 Patented Mar. 8, 1932 UNITED STATES T T orrics f LocKWoon- ELLIS, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN, AssIeNoR To GENERAL Morons COR- PonA'rIon, 0F nn rnoinraiorne-an, A CORPORATION on DELAWARE lubricant in the crankcase.

INTERNAL colunus'rion ENGINE It is well knownthat in the operationof internal combustion engines, particularly those ofthe type used in automobiles, it has proven very difficult tomaintain a supply of pure Thus water, which is one ofthe products of combustion, and unburnt particles of fuel from the combustion chamber leak past the piston rings usually in the form of avapor or gas, reach regions of lower temperature and, particularly upon striking the relatively cool walls of the crankcase, condense and mingle with the fuel. The lubricating properties of the oil are thus greatly impaired and, if there is sulphur present, as where a fuelis employed which contains a slight proportion of this element, the sulphur uniting with the water will form an acid which will add corrosion to the bad effects of poor lubrication. The life of the motor is thus greatly shortened' To overcome these difficulties I have de. vised the new method herein disclosed which is effective both to prevent contamination of the engine oil and toremove impurities and therein. I have also preferably so applied the said method in my improved engine-structure as to eifectat the same time the eiiicient lubrication of certain of the engine parts.

To prevent contamination of the oil, I have provided means which serves to resist the passage of the leakage gases into the crankcase and to divert them'therefrom preferably into the atmosphere. 3 The specific means which I have employed consists of a head or body of air underpressure preferably acting in opposition to the flow of the leakage gases, said air discharging through an aperture in the cylinderwall andentraining and carrying with it in its outward passage the products of combustion which have leaked past the pistons. The stream of air thus performs a scavenging function.

In order that this scavenging stream may operate effectively it is desirable that the products from the combustion chamber shall be in the form of vapor or gas for the flowing air isrelatively ineffective against par.- ticles of liquid. Now if the leakage gases are permitted to travel the length of the piston diluents which may have found theirway.

skirt in the usual mannersome condensation would take place owing to contact with the cooler portionsof the piston skirt and cylin 'der walk I have accordingly found it desirable to provide passages through the piston near the head for the discharge of these gases as well as excess lubricant and other fluids into the interiorof the piston where the heat is sufficient to maintain them in gaseous condition. This also has the effect of relieving the pressure of the gases before they meet the scavenging air stream which also assists n vaporization. As another and additional means of reducing the pressure of the leakage gases I have also described and claimed in my prior application Serial Number 730,458, filed Auguste, 1924; that is, I have provided an annular groove in my piston, preferably in one ofv the lands thereof and have provided another aperture in the cylinder wall preferably smaller than the aperture previously referred to and located above the same,lthrough which the leakage. gases mixed with lubricant which find their way between the cylinder wall and the piston may discharge in a fine stream pref erably into the compartment containing the valve mechanism, thus assisting in the lubrication of the latter.

Now itis apparent that there are a number of ways in which I may secure the desired pressure or head of air for my scavenging stream. Thus independent pump equipment may be provided for this purpose. ever, I have preferred to make use of a pump ing action inherent in the engine operation and in so doing have been enabledto accomplish the second object of my invention, that is, the removal of the'diluents' which may find their way into the crankcase under certain conditions. Thus at starting, with the engine cool, the leakage past the piston is in the form of condensed particles of water and fuel upon made use of theexpedient How- Iii)

case the action which will now be described provides effectively for their removal. The

specific pumping action to which I have had resort is the centrifugal action of the rotating crank shaft which results in dragging the body of air in the crankcase around with the shaft and hurling or tending to hurl portions thereof in a tangential direction. Now the engine cylinders constitute pockets in which the tangentially hurled masses of air collect resulting in a building up of pressure therein which resists downward flow; of the leakage gases and causes a discharge of air and the entrained leakage gases into the ati'nosphere, directly or indirectly, through the previously described openings in the cylinder walls. It is obvious that this discharge could continue for but a short period unless some means were provided for the introduction of air into the crankcase to take the place of that discharged and thus relieve the vacuum which tends to form as a result of the centrifugal action. I have accordingly provided air inlet ports in the crankcase, such ports being so arranged that the mass of air set whirling by thecra-nk shaft induces a flow of air through the ports to take the place of that discharged through the openings in the cylinder walls.

The rapid rotation of the crank shaft produces a very complete mixture of the entering air with the engine oil' and this aeration at the temperatures which prevail in the crankcase results in the air taking up a consider able portion of the diluents which may be present in the oil and carrying them away as vapors through the discharge portsin the cylinders. In this way the engine oil is subjected to a distilling action produced by the combination of. heat and thorough mixing of the air and liquid. To enhancethis action 1 have preferred to heatthe incoming air prior to its entrance into the crankcase. By these expedients I have, by actual test, been able to eliminate in a very short time large quantities of diluents which had been mixed with the crankcase lubricant.

It must'be obvious also that this distilling ction may be used independently of the means for preventing the entrance of leakage gases into the crankcase.

One apparent difficulty which a construction' such. as described presents is that the outgoing stream of air will carry with it con siderablequantities of lubricating oil. and if means is not provided to effect a recovery of such oil. and its return to the crankcase the entire supply will soon be ejected; l have accordingly provided means for separating the oil content from the issuing gases; While this may be done in a number of ways I have preferred to so locate the outlet in-the cylinder wall that the issuing stream carrying with it particles of oil and leakage gases, is discharged into thecompartment containing the valve mechanism, upon which some of the oil particles collect thus assisting in the lubrication of the latter, and have provided the openings leading fromsaid compartment into the atmosphere with bafiles which also serve to intercept the oil, while the air and gases, freed from their oil content, are discharged through the openings. I have also preferably provided a drain opening through which the recovered oil may drip baclrinto the crankcase.

lVhile' the air stream issuing from the Ivalve chamber may, if desired be used for carburetion Ihave preferred to discharge it into the atmosphere, thus avoiding any possibility of clogging the carbureter passages with the impurities carried by the airstream and also entirely removing from the engine undesirablecombustion chamber products.

I shall now refer tothe drawingswherein:

Figure 1. is a vertical section of a V type engine to which my invention is shown applied; r

Figure 2 is an enlarged" detail view showing more clearly the construction of piston and cylinder of Fi ure-1;

Figure 3 is a fragmental side elevation of the engine of Figure 1 showing one of the air inlet assages;

Figure at is a view corresponding t'oFigure 1 showing a modified construction;

Figure 5is a horizontal: section showing in detail the air cleaner used in connection with the construction shown in Figure l;

Figure 6 is a vertical section of a. vertical cylinder type of engine to which a modified form of my invention hasbeen shown applied.

1 shall first describe the preferred form of my invention which is illustrated in Figures 1 to 3.

In Figure 1 I have shown a-conventional V-type engine having the usual cylinders 10, pistons 11, connecting rods 12, crank shaft 13, crankcase 14, and compartments 1.5 for the valve mechanism; In this compartment will belocat'ed the valve springs, push rods, and associated parts as shown at the left of Figure 1-. These parts have been omitted elsewhere so as to permit of clear illustration.

With this construction combustion chamber products consisting chiefly ofburnt gases, water vapor, and unburnt. fuel will", even with the best of seals, leak past the'pistons into the crankcase where they will condense particularly by contact with the relatively cool walls of the crankcase and. dilute the lubrieating oil- Todiverti such products from the crankcase and effect their discharge into the atmosphere I have provided the cylinder walls with openings 21 which preferably have communication with. the. atmosphere through the intermediary. of the valve coin partments and the louvers 25in the'outer walls or covers thereof, and have provided in the lower portions of'the cylindersair or gas under pressure which preferably opposes the flow of leakage gases into the crankcase. This air or gas discharges through the openings 21, entraining and carrying along with it the said gases, thus performing a scavenging function; For most eifectiveoperation I have found it best to locate the open ings 21 fairly well up in the cylinder, the

purpose of this being to accomplish the ejec-f tion of the leakage products before they have had opportunity to condense by contact with the cooler portions of the engine.

I have also preferably chamfered the inner edges of the openings 21 in order to reduce the noise of the outgoing streams of air and also to cause the resistance to outward flow of air to be less than resistance to inward flow; that is, I have found that'by chamfering the inner ends of the openings 21 the resistance to the passage of gases is less when the flow is from the interior of the cylinder to the exterior than when the flow is in the reverse direction. 7

As a further aid'in preventing condensation of the leakage gases which might occur as a result of their contact with the cooler portions ofthe piston skirt and cylinder wall, I may, as shown more clearly in Figure 2, provide my piston with passages near the head thereof leading into the interior thereof. These passages are preferably formed by slotting the lower piston ring as at 27 and drilling the bottom of thering groove as at 28, and while they perform the usual function of providing for the return of excess lubrieffects a reduction in pressure of the leakage gases'which, of itself, assists in maintaining them in a gaseous state and'at the same time minimizes the possibility of any of said gases reaching the bottom of the piston skirt under suificient pressure to overcome the counter-pressure of the stream. V g

It will also be noted by reference to Figure 2 that I have provided a reservoir in the piston skirt to receive leakage gases and excess lubricant, this reservoir preferably taking the form of a groove 31 in the lower land. I have also provided openings 32 in the cylinder wall, one of which is shown in Figure 1, these openings being smaller than the openings 21 and above the latter. The groove 31 and openings 32 operate in the same manner as similar parts disclosed and claimed in my prior application Serial Number 7 30,458, to

which reference has previously been made;

scavenging air that is, when, during the travel of the piston, the groove 31 registers with the openings 32 the pressure of the leakage gasescontained within the groove results'in the projection of a fine spray or mist, rich in oil,-into the valve compartment. This assists in the lubri cation of the valve mechanism. At the same time the arrangement alsoacts to reduce the pressure of the leakage gases and thus tends to prevent their condensation, and consequently supplements the-action of the grooved rlngs 27 and openings 28 previouslydescribed. While a single opening might suflice forthe dis-' charge of products from the groove 31and for the passage of the outgoing air stream, I have found it preferable to provide the additional smaller openings 32 in order to accentuate the spraying act-ion upondischarge of the contents of the groove. 3 7

' It will now beunderstood that bybuilding up pressure in the lower portions of the cyl- 'inders air is intermittently ejected through the apertures 21 in the cylinder walls into the valve compartments, entraining with it in its passage leakageproducts particularly such as escape through the apertures, 27-28.;

in its flow through the valve compartments it.

combines with the products discharged through theopenings 32 and passes outwardly v through the louvers25 preferably into the atmosphere, baflies 53 serving to'separate particles of oil from the air stream. The 'oil thus intercepted collects in the bottom of the valve chamberand drains back into the crankcase through the apertures 30; It is obvious, of course, that any well knowntype of oil separator may be substituted for bafiles 53, if desired. i

I shall now. describe the means by secure the desired air pressure for producing the scavenging stream. For simplicity, as well as to secure certain advantages to which I have previously called attention and shall now again refer, I have found it desirable to make use of a pumping action inherent in the engine.

The pumping action which I have selected is a result oftherotation of the crank shaft. this shaft is to drag around with it the body of air or gas as well as lubricating oil and other fluids contained in the crankcase and to tend to hurl them in tangential directions,

The effect of the rotation of thus producing a region of low pressure adjacent the axis of the crank shaft and a region of high pressure remote from the axis. The engine cylinders constitute pockets which receive tangentially hurled air so. that a pressure is built up-therein which, obviously, is in a direction tending to resist the downward flow of the products of combustion into the crankcase. a I

By providing a properly arranged inlet air may be drawn in to replace that discharged through the apertures 21'and thus a circulation of air through the crankcase ordinal may be obtained. Thus I haveprovided air inlet passages50, provided with baffles 51-52' so that their inner openings extend in the direction of rotation of the crank shaft, wherebythe latter exerts an aspirating action upon them; in other words, produces a low pressure area adjacent their inner ends thus drawing air into the crankcase. 7

In addition to merely drawing air-into the crankcase and discharging it through the apertures in the. cylinders the rotation of the crank shaft results in a thorough mixture of the entering air with the crankcase contents which results in the vaporization of the diluents mixed with the lubricating oil. This vaporization is, of course, facilitated. by the heat normally reaching the crankcase from the combustion chamber but I have preferred to increase the'evaporative action by heating tlie-aiiaprier to, its admission to the crankcase. 1 In the embod-imentshown I have accoi ulis-hed this byru-nning air inlet passage along the hotcylinder walls as shown'on V thedrawinga, I l a It willalso be noted that the outer ends of the air inlet passages. 50 open in the. direction of flow'of the air blast produced by the action of thecustomary cooling fan, and indicated by the arrows 55, so that there is a selection ofclean airfor use in the crankcase.

Another object incidentally accomplished by the construction just described is this; the engine, is automatically supplied with what constitutes an effective air cleaner. This comes about from the fact that at very high engiiie speeds the pistons and rings vibrate to suchan extent as to be relatively ineffective and allow the passage into the crankcase of considerable qualities of combustion gases under high pressure. This pressure is great enough to overcome the pressure of the centrifirgally hurled masses of'air with the result that. there is an actual discharge of gases through the passages in the crankcase which il I serve for the intake of air. This actiorr'i-s undoubtedly increased by the aspi rating effect of the air stream due to the fan blast and the motion of the vehicle acting upon the outer ends of passages 50. T he discharged gases carry the usual oil content so that the walls of the inlet passages are liberally sprinkled or moistened with oil. This oil serves to trap dust which is carried in with the entering air in the subsequent normal operationof the engine. When the engine again runs at very high speeds this oil coatin is renewed- However, any usual type of air-cleaner may also be employed at the intake openings if'desired.

' By utilizing the motion of the crank shaft for pumping I obtain the additional advant that the pumping action is substantially e ually effective at each of the cylinders; that is, each crank shaft throw will produce the pumping action for its particular cylinder or cylinders, and the pumping actions so produced will necessarily be substantially equally effective. This means that the pressures in the various cylinders tending to force air out through the apertures therein will be substantially, equivalent with the result that there will be an even distribution of the air stream in ispassagethrough the crankcase from the air inlets to the air outlets.

The action of the crankshaft in pumping depends upon its displacement. IIence I have found that most effective pumping action is obtained .by the use of a relatively small crankcase so that the displacement caused by the rotation of the crank shaft is a con iderable percentage of its volume. The action is also promoted by the use of a crank shaft having counterweights, these counterwcights serving their customary purpose but also serving to increase the-crank shaft displaccmentand hence increasing the pump capacity.- p

In Figure l I have shown a. slightly modified form of my invention. In this embodiment the air entrance passages 20 lead to adjacent the center of the crank shaft ."nich is, alow pressure area as previously described. Likewise air cleaner 40 is shown ap plied to the outer end of the air intakepas- T his cleaner is shown in detail in Figure 5 and comprises a tubular member 41 surrounding the outer end of the air inlet passage .26 and tapering in the direction of the air flow rcsultingfrom the action of the usual cooling fan andindicated by the larger arrows. Disposed centrally within the tubular member ll is a cup-shaped member 42, this member shielding the inlet passage 20 from the direct action of the fan blast. With this arrangement the heavier particles of dust and the like are carried beyond the passage 20 resulting in a selection of relatively clean air for the crankcase. V

. It will also be noted that in Figure 4 as well as in Figure 6 I have substituted baffles 26 forthe single baffle 53 shown in Figure 1.

Figure Gillustrates my invention applied to a vertical type engine. This figure also shows'apertures 22 in the piston skirt for registration with the aperture s1 whereby the frequency of the pulsations of the discharging air stream is increased. I have omitted openings 32 in this embodiment.

I claim: l.- The combination of an internal combustion engine comprising a crankcase, a cylinder and a piston operating in the cylinder, means for lubricating the piston, and means for passing'a stream of air through the lower portion of the cylinder, said stream discharging outwardly of the cylinder and carrying with'it combustion chamber products which have leaked past the'piston thus preventing their entrance into the crankcase. 2. The combination of an internal combustion engine comprising a crankcase, a cylinder anda piston in the cylinder, said piston being lubricated from the crankcase, means for passing a stream of air through the lower'portion of the cylinder, said stream discharging outwardly of the cylinder and carrying with it combustion chamber prodnote which haveleaked past the piston thus preventing their entrance into the crankcase, and n'ieansfo'r separating particles of oil from the outgoing air strea 3. The combination as set forth in claim 2, said engine beingfor'med toprovide a chain ber adjacent the cylinder into which the air.

ofoil from said air stream prior to its dis charge'from said. chamber, and means for returning said particles of oil to the crankcase.

,5. The combination of an internal combustion engine comprising a'crankcase, a cylinder and a piston, means forbuilding up pressure in the air in the lower portion of the cylinder to resist the passage of combustion chamber products past the piston and into the crankcase, and a port in the cylinder wall for the discharge of air therethrough, said discharging air stream carrying with it said combustion chamber products.

6. The combination asset forth in claim 5, the said port in the cylinder wall lying within the limits of travel of the piston.

7. The combination of an internal com bustion engine comprising a crankcase, a cylinder and a piston, means for lubricating the piston from the crankcase, means for building up pressure in the air in the lower portion of the cylinder to resist the passage of combustion chamber products past. the piston and into the,crankcase, a port in said cylinder wall for the discharge of said air therethrough, said 'discharging air stream carrying with it said combustion chamber products and thus preventing their entrance into the crankcase, a chamber into which said outgoing stream of air discharges, and mechanism in'said chamber whereby the. mist of oil carried by said stream effectively lubricates said mechanism.

8. The combination of an internal combustion engine comprising a crank shaft, a crankcase, a cylinder and a piston in the cylinder, an opening in the crankcase so arranged as to be subject to aspiration as a result of the rotation of the crank shaft and an air discharge opening inthe cylinder'wall. v

-9. The combination as defined by c1ain '8, said discharge opening in the cylinder wall lying in the path of travelof the piston so that it is intermittently uncovered. I, I

10. The combination of an internal com bust-ion engine comprising a crank shaft and and a crankcase, an air entrance opening for said crankcase, said opening being so arranged with respect to said crank shaft that a low pressure area is created'at the inner end thereof by the rotation of the shaft Wl'iereby air is drawn into said crankcase, and an air discharge opening for said crankcase, said air discharge opening being so arran d with respect to said crank shaft that the rotation of the latter will produce a high pressure area adjacent the inner end thereof for the discharge of air tlierethrough.

V 11. The combination of an internaljcombustion engine comprising a crank shaft, a crankcase, cylinders, and pistons in said cylinders, an air inlet for said crankcase, said inlet being provided with a baffle to prevent the discharge of airv therethrough, and apertures in said cylinder walls for the discharge.

of air therethrough. r

12. An internal combustion engine comprising a crankcase having an air inlet, cylinders and pistons in said cylinders, means for causing a substantially continuous flow of air into said crankcase, through said inlet, said cylinders being provided with openings located within thepiston stroke for the discharge of air therethrough when uncoveredby said pistons.

13. An internal combustion engineof the V -type having the usual-crankcase, cylinders, and valve chambers arranged'on adjacent sides of the angularly disposed cylinders, an air inlet for said crankcase, passages providing direct communication between said cylinders and said valve chambers, air out lets from said valve chambers, and means for establishing a flow of air from said inlet through the crank case and said passages to i.

said outlets. 1 r

14. An internal combustion engine com prising a crankcase, a cylinder, a piston in the cylinder, said cylinder wall'being' provided with a port for the discharge of leakage combustion chamber products from the cylinder in their passage past the piston, said being apertnred for the discharge of leakage combustion chamber products from the space between the pistons and the cylinder walls whereby their pressure is relieved, ports in the cylinder. walls within the'limits of the stroke of the pistons and means for passing a stream of air from the crankcase outwardly through said ports whereby the leakage products of combustion are entrained "1; of said products into the crankcase and entraining them with it.

17. The combination as set forth in claim 16, and mechanism arranged adjacent said discharge means whereby it is effectively lubricated.

1.8. The combination as set forth in claim 16, and mechanism arranged adjacent said discharge means and in the path of said issuing air stream whereby it is efi'ectively lubricated.

19. An internal combustion engine comprising a crankcase, cylinders, pistons in the cylinders, said pistons being provided with annular reservoirs, ports in the cylinder walls for communication with said reservoirs in the course of the stroke of the pistons whereby the contents of said reservoirs may bedischarged therefrom, the skirts of said pistons being apertured, and means for passing a stream of air from the crankcase through the lower portions of the cylinders within the limits of the piston stroke for en training with it the released leakage products and lubricant.

20. The combination as set forth in claim 19, mechanism arranged in the path of the issuing air streams whereby said mechanism is effectively lubricated, oil traps in the paths of the air streams, and means for returning the collected oil to the crankcase.

21. The combination of an internal com-v bustion engine having a crank shaft, a crankcase for containing lubricant, cylinders, and pistons in theqcylinders, and means for introducing air into said crankcase so as to be entrainedby the action of the rotating crank shaft, said cylinder walls being apertured at points within the stroke-of the pistons, said stream of air discharging through said apertures.

through the apertures.

noeaooo 22.. The'combination-as set forth in claim 21, and means for heating theair prior to its introduction into said crankcase.

23. The combination of an internal combustion engine having a crankshaft, a crank- T passage, said cylinder walls being apertured at points within the stroke of the piston and said stream of air discharging through said apertures,valve mechanism arranged in the path of movement of the issuing air stream, and means for separating particles of oil from the stream and returning said oil to the crankcase.

2 1. The combination as set forth in claim 23, said engine being provided with a fan to 25. In an automobile, the combination of v an internal combustion engine having the usual cylinders, pistons in the cylinders, a crankcase serving as a lubricant reservoir, said engine being exposed to a cooling air flow in normal operation, said crankcase being provided with an air inlet facing in a direction to be subject to the aspirating action of the passingair stream, saidcylinders being provided with apertures for the discharge of air from the crankcase and means for normally causing a flow of air through the crankcase and outwardly 26. In an automobile, the combination of an internal combustion engine having the usual crankcase serving as a lubricant reservoir, cylinders, pistons in the cylinders, a valve chamber alongside the cylinders, valve mechanism in the chamber, said engine being exposed to the usual cooling flow of airin normal operation, said. crankcase being provided with a rearwardly facing air "inlet subject to the aspirating action of they air stream, ports directly connecting" the cylinders and the valve chamber, said chamber being provided with an air outlet. i

27. An internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder and a-piston, a plurality ofsuccessively operating means for the dis charge of leakage combustion chamber produots during their passage past the piston thereby assisting said products in remaining in a vaporous or gaseous state, and means for preventing the entrance of said products into the crankcase and diverting them therefrom, said successively operating means comprising apertures in the cylinder wall and in the piston.

In testimony whereofI aiiix my signature.

' LOCKVVOOD B. ELLIS. 

